Tom Cruise needs no introduction. The actor-producer is possibly one of the biggest names ever in Hollywood. His charismatic charm and knack for making action films come to life make him one of the biggest celebrity names not just in the USA but globally. His recent movie, Top Gun: Maverick (2022) was his highest-grosser ever, and is in contention for an Oscar.
Maverick is a sequel in the Top Gun franchise after the first movie of the same name came out in 1986. Cruise has been seen doing several jaw-dropping stunts throughout the movie, and he recently shared that he does most of them himself. He also added that he wasn’t allowed to go snowboarding by the powers that be, but he could jump off cliffs to perform his stunts.
‘Top Gun’ Tom Cruise talks about doing his own stunts
Tom Cruise has always been one for adventure. In an interaction with talk show host Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Cruise talked about how he did his stunts throughout his action movies himself. The Mission Impossible star said that he does not even have a stunt double as he went on to walk the audience through a series of his jaw-dropping stunts.
A video grab showed Cruise jumping off a helicopter down the side of a cliff from several hundred feet high before shooting open his parachute. The jumps were apparently to warm him up for future stunts.
“You see the parachute turned right into the side of the bowl (the cliff wall). That was dangerous…I jumped off that eight times, I know. It was wild, I know. I just want to do everything I can, use every tool I have to entertain the audience,” said Cruise while being interviewed by an awed Kimmel.
A second video grab from the same movie showed Cruise riding a dirt bike off a ramp on top of a precipice. The motorcycle falls away while he falls clear of it before opening the parachute.
“…that was the first time I did it. The ramp was iced a little before…when I let go, you have to make sure I am not attached to the bike in any way, even my shoelaces are taped. And then you let go and you start flying, and you have about six seconds to open that parachute before [you] hit the ground.” said Cruise laughingly.
Shortly afterward, Cruise says that he doesn’t have a stunt double for his stunts, to which a bemused Kimmel remarks laughingly that someone should get him a stunt double.
Tom Cruise talks about how he isn’t allowed to go snowboarding
MCU star Jeremy Renner, who plays the role of the ace archer Hawkeye, suffered a terrible accident with a snowplow, which crushed him and rolled over him. The accident injured him critically but a couple of months from the day, he has recovered well enough and has recently hit the gym with careful workout sessions to help him recuperate.
Tom Cruise mentioned in his interaction with Jimmy Kimmel in what seems to be a reference to the Renner accident that he isn’t allowed to go snowboarding.
“Yeah I can jump off a cliff, but don’t go snowboarding,” he said. “You know, or like, they’d prefer I didn’t get on a skateboard… and look both ways before I cross the street,” he added laughingly.
Paramount is understandably jittery about endangering their star after the Renner incident, even though the said star might have to end up jumping off a cliff as many as eight times during a shoot for a movie. Fans are, however, treated to wonderful masterpieces like Maverick, and they will surely have little to complain about.
